Chasseurs of the 6e Legere and a Windmill for Them to Shelter Within

 I learned a lot and picked up some pointers when playing the test game of Muskets and Marshals with Wellington Man.  One of the guiding principles of these rules by Ian Spencer is to keep it simple and not over-complicate unit organization.  To that end, players of Muskets and Marshals have battalions dedicated to a skirmish role, rather than peeling off companies of voltigeurs from full strength battalions.  What this does is standardize the size of the battalions as well as the "skirmish units".  For my larger 36 figure standard battalion size, skirmish units should be nine figures each, which represents roughly two companies of infantry (which coincides with the number of voltigeurs an infantry regiment of two battalions would throw forward).  For the French at Rolica I needed to have two legere battalions, one of which could be played in a close order formation or a skirmish formation.  To this end I modeled three battalions, 2 in close order and one that has smaller bases for skirmish duty.

Fortunately I already had 24 extra legere from the Tennant collection, so only needed to add 12 more.  The additional figures are Der Kriegspielers #12 - French legere battalion, 1812 firing.  The same figure is used for carabiniers, voltigeurs and chasseurs.  In this case I modeled the chasseurs as I already had the voltigeurs and carabiniers waiting.

In a bit of a cheat, I painted on a vest to appear as though a pre 1812 uniform was worn, to better match the voltigeurs and carabiniers. 

The DK figures are sometimes really quite crudely cast, and it took a lot of shaping and filing to get them in reasonable shape for painting.  Almost all had lost their bayonets, so I am hoping the super glue and varnish will create a strong enough bond to be durable with the replacement bayonets (plastic and metal).

Finally, apparently no old school wargame is complete without this plastic model kit of a windmill that shows up everywhere.  It is still available from Dapol in the the UK, along with the equally ubiquitous thatched cottage and village church:  https://www.dapol.co.uk/shop/model-accessories/self-assembly-oo-kits/c016-windmill-545

In the background you can see I have made some progress with the roads leading up into the hill beyond Rolica.  Despite having tested the battle a month ago, there are still a few scenic elements to complete, and a brigade of Portuguese, who may or may not show up during the course of the battle.  Still lots of fun to be had getting this battle ready for a local springtime debut.